There were two very well-known Amos Lees: Thomas and Roseís son, baptised in Chartham, Kent in 1801 (brother of the Joshua Lee I discussed last month), and Christopher and Lucyís son, baptised in Winchelsea, Ssx in 1819 (Lucy being the first Amosí sister).

In the Family Tree booklet I published in 2007, when I hadnít yet discovered the 1819 baptism, I confused the first Amos with his nephew: easily done when Amos senior christened children, mostly in Kent, 1821-40, and Amos junior christened children, wholly in Kent 1843-53, and Amos junior belatedly in 1855 got married in Northfleet, Kent, where Amos senior had christened a son in 1838 and buried his wife in 1842.

My blunder illustrates how easy it is to be misled by uncommon forenames (which of course often run in families), and how easy it is to find good support for bad guesses (I mentioned last month Iíd given Amos senior a daughter Mary Ann, who it turned out wasnít even a Lee). But an examination of the children of both Amos Lees will, I hope, illustrate the value involved in looking for cousin marriages and other intra-family connections.

Amos senior married a Mary Ann, and christened a Noah in E Barming, Kent in 1829 who belatedly married in Hammersmith, Mdx in 1862 (Noel Lee son of Amos) his informal wife since at least 1847 Maria Lee (daughter of Isaac [and Lydia]), christened in E Barming in 1831 two years after Noah, who was clearly her cousin as well as husband. However, Moses and Mary Ann also christened a Thomas in 1821, who belatedly married in 1879 Eunice Lee, christened in 1828 daughter of Henry Lee and Ruth Powell, and christened a Phillimore in 1826 whose wife Charlotte (they donít seem to have ever made their union legal) was surely Euniceís sister, christened in 1823, and itís hard to see any blood connection between these two Lee parents (Amos being son of Thomas and Rose and Henry being surely son of Zachariah and Phillis), although itís possible Amosí wife Mary Ann was a Powell and sister of Henryís Ruth.

Amos junior married Avice Ayres, christened in Marylebone St Mary, Mdx in 1813 daughter of Samuel and Prudence, and had a Priscilla, Lucy and Lavinia Lee, christened respectively in 1847, 1849 and 1853, who married respectively Joseph, John and Walter sons of Henry Lee, son of Ambrose Lee (Amos juniorís uncle) and Sophia Lee (daughter of Joshua, Amos juniorís uncle), the three couples being clearly cousins twice over. However, Amos junior and Avice also christened a Christopher Lee in 1843, who married Celia Boswell daughter of Levi and Mary Ann in Kensington St Clement, Mdx in 1868, and whose widowed sister Priscilla married Hope Boswell son of Levi and Mary Ann in Kensington St Clement in 1869, and, although Leviís wife was Mary Ann Lee daughter of Charles at their wedding, again itís hard to see any blood connection between these two Lee parents, although again itís possible Amosí wife Avice Ayres may have supplied the connection, through her first husband, a Lawrence Lee son of Sophia at his death in 1840, who had given her a Noah and Henry Lee, christened in Kent in 1837 and 1839 respectively.

Iím currently assuming that Lawrence was the Laura Lee baptised in 1811 as the daughter, corrected to son, of David and Sophia; that David was brother of the Zachariah Lee who by his first wife, Demona, had the Charles (baptised in 1798) who fathered Levi Boswellís wife, and by his second wife, Phyllis, had the Henry (born about 1804) who fathered the wives of Amos Lee seniorís sons Thomas and Phillimore; and that Amos senior and his nephew Amos junior both found spouses for their children through the younger Amosí adopting by 1842 two of David and Sophiaís grandsons.

Again, Iím grateful to Bob Collins for the generous help heís given me with these Lees.